Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes $1.50 Million Position in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 32,049 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,495,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its position in New Jersey Resources by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 34,643 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3.9% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,185 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 69.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 25,522 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,191,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in New Jersey Resources by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

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New Jersey Resources Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:NJR traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $47.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 766,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 550,739. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.13. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 12 month low of $40.62 and a 12 month high of $51.94.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. New Jersey Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.22%.

Insider Transactions at New Jersey Resources

In related news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,983 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $229,218.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,707,704. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NJR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded New Jersey Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Company Profile

New Jersey Resources Corporation, an energy services holding company, distributes natural gas. The company operates through four segments: Natural Gas Distribution, Clean Energy Ventures, Energy Services, and Storage and Transportation. The Natural Gas Distribution segment offers regulated natural gas utility services to approximately 576,000 customers in Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, and Sussex counties in New Jersey; provides capacity and storage management services; and participates in the off-system sales and capacity release markets.